


"Following"

by Silvyis



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Edelgard ships it, Fishing, Hubert drinks too much coffee for his own good, I love Hubert, I promise, Insomnia, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pre-Timeskip, Slow Burn, Stalking, but with mostly good intentions, fight me, lots of headcannons, pre-timeskip spoilers, some spoilers for Hubert and Edelgard's backstory, spoilers for some supports, there IS a plot
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-05
Updated: 2019-08-26
Packaged: 2020-07-31 12:50:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,334
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20115385
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Silvyis/pseuds/Silvyis
Summary: Of course, he never put his trust in anyone but Lady Edelgard, but this Professor Byleth certainly was one of the more suspicious characters on his list of people to keep tabs on. He was too mysterious, too blank, too unknown for Hubert to be at ease with his consistent presence around the future Adrestian Empress. So, Hubert began to watch the professor.aka a series of longish drabbles where Hubert stalks Byleth and has some interesting encounters as a result





	1. How it started...

**Author's Note:**

> Hi this is my first fic, and I have a difficult time writing fanfiction, so... Constructive critisicm is always appreciated! I draw from a lot of Black Eagle supports to write Hubert's character, but I do have a lot of headcannons as well, so bear with me. I absolutely love his character and I've been having a fun time writing this so far, so please enjoy!

Hubert was extremely wary of the new professor. It was rare that he and Lady Edelgard disagreed on something, but this new professor appeared to be one such case.

“His skill as a mercenary is exceptional, and his ability to strategize and command units is nigh unparalleled. I believe he would make a valuable asset to the Adrestian Empire, Hubert. There’s just something more about him, some well of potential that seems to pull others in. In any case, I’m glad I can rely on him and his commitment to the Black Eagles, rather than worry about his intentions in another house.”

His intentions and that “something more” were two reasons Hubert wasn’t particularly keen on Byleth. Of course, he never put his trust in anyone but Lady Edelgard, but this Professor Byleth certainly was one of the more suspicious characters on his list of people to keep tabs on. He was too mysterious, too blank, too unknown for Hubert to be at ease with his consistent presence around the future Adrestian Empress.

So, Hubert began to watch the professor.

It began very simply. Any time Byleth was in the vicinity, Hubert would keep an eye on him, observing and evaluating his intentions according to his actions.

But it soon grew to a bit more than that. Hubert began following the professor, innocuously of course. He deemed the action necessary to the safety of Lady Edelgard.

After class, the dark-haired man would wait outside the Black Eagles classroom, intimidating students from the other houses with both glares and smiles until Byleth walked out. Once he was a reasonable distance away, Hubert would begin to surreptitiously tread the same path.

Soon, this habit of following professor Byleth extended to Hubert’s free time and days off. And, as can be imagined, Hubert’s consistent presence around the mysterious professor led to many an interesting interaction and observation...


	2. Professor Byleth goes Fishing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hubert gets dragged into helping Byleth go fishing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This turned out way longer than I intended it to be. Whoops.

“I’ve noticed your accuracy has been sub-par when we’re fighting near each other on the battlefield. I cannot afford to have you at less than your best when Lady Edelgard’s life may be on the line.”

“Eeek! Scary! Um, I’m sorry Hubert. It’s just you’re really intimidating and kind of... t-terrifying? I’m sorry don’t kill me! It just makes it hard for me to focus when you’re nearby…”

Hubert tuned out her next five apologies as, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted Byleth striding purposefully through the dining hall.

“Ahh! D-don’t frown like that! It’s really s-scary…”

Hubert, hardly listening, set his empty coffee cup down on the table and stood, nodding to a cowering Bernadetta opposite him. 

“I doubt I will be able to remedy your fear of me without spending a considerable amount of time around you. Time I don’t have. I’ll inform the professor not to place us near each other on missions. Good day.”

He left Bernadetta to her shivering and followed Byleth out of the dining hall’s south entrance. As he did so, he made a mental inventory of where Lady Edelgard could possibly be that morning. _Unlikely, but she could still be sleeping. She said something about doing some training today, so it’s possible she’s at the training grounds. There was also some correspondence she had to write and send and a few classmates she wanted to get to know better as potential allies and assets to the empire._ All-in-all, Hubert deemed it unlikely Edelgard would be in the vicinity of wherever Byleth was going. Which now appeared to be the fishing pond.

The professor had stopped in front of the pier, that same damnable blank expression clouding his face from anything close scrutiny could try to read from it. From his vantage point, the balcony looking out over the pond and greenhouse, the professor’s posture was the only thing visible to him. And it looked… listless, as if he’d wanted to do something but didn’t have the means of doing it.

Hubert contemplated going down, both to question the professor as to his purpose here as well as inform him of how Bernadetta would be a far greater asset during missions if placed away from himself. He was still considering it when Byleth looked up from his own contemplation and spotted Hubert on the balcony. With a mechanical swiftness, the professor walked back across the grounds and ascended the stairs towards the dark-haired mage. Hubert resigned himself to waiting for Byleth. He'd observed early on in his following of the mysterious professor that when Byleth had a purpose, it was nearly impossible to deter him from it. 

"Good morning professor. Do you have need of me?" Hubert said sinisterly as the young man (but was he really as young as he looked?) approached.  


"Only if you have some bait." Hubert raised an eyebrow a fraction. 

"Excuse me?" Byleth shifted his weight and crossed his arms.

"You asked if I had need of you. I only have need of you if you have some bait. So do you?"  


"No, I don't believe I do." 

"Ah, pity. That would have been convenient," Byleth said and turned as if to leave. An idea idea suddenly flashed through Hubert's head. 

"Wait," he called. Byleth stopped, still half turned towards him. "Would you welcome assistance searching for some… bait?" 

The professor turned fully towards him again, that same blank expression enveloping his face as he evaluated Hubert and his proposal.

"Yes, I would appreciate it very much." Hubert’s lips twitched upwards in a thin facsimile of a smile. This would be a good opportunity to evaluate the character of this so-called professor as well as keep a close eye on him without having to sneak around like he was doing something wrong. 

"In that case, I would suggest we check the market--" Hubert stopped mid sentence as Byleth abruptly turned around, waving his hand dismissively behind him. 

"Too expensive. The Church of Seiros doesn't give me enough of a stipend to afford nonessentials. All the money for this month is already tied up in replenishing battalions, armor and weapon repairs, seals for the upcoming certification exams, and almost anything else I can afford that will keep all of you from dying on missions. Students always come first. There isn't any room in the budget for bait. Which means we'll have to be resourceful."

Hubert's eyes widened slightly as the professor expressionlessly listed of expenditures. "Ah," the dark-haired man started, striding quickly after his professor's retreating back. "What exactly do you mean by being resourceful?" 

"Students are a forgetful bunch. I find their things lying all over the monastery. If it’s something that’s clearly a personal belonging, I try to return it. Otherwise, finders keepers,” Byleth said with a shrug.

“I see. You pocket the useful objects you find, such as bait.” Byleth stopped by a row of barrels leaning against a wall, inspecting them carefully.

“Right,” he said, oblivious to the slightly accusatory tone in Hubert’s voice. 

Suddenly, the professor’s deep blue eyes narrowed in concentration as he reached behind one of the barrels and pulled out a small pouch made of netting. He peered at the contents, then stuffed the little container inside his cloak, shaking his head. 

“Insect larva,” he said, as if that should explain everything. When Hubert just stared at him, the professor tilted his head slightly.

“You don’t know anything about fishing do you?” The dark mage tapped his foot testily. 

“You seem to overestimate the amount of time I have on my hands. It never seemed important enough to put precious time and effort into.” 

“And yet here you are,” Byleth mused softly. Hubert froze, but the professor simply turned back towards the dining hall. 

“Come. I daresay you’ll find fishing an important skill if you ever end up stranded and out of rations. And if not for yourself, it’d be important if you happened to be stranded with the future Adrestian Empress.”  


His point was sound. Hubert grit his teeth. It was one thing for everyone to know about his single-minded dedication to Lady Edelgard. It was quite another for it to be used against him as a point of persuasive logic like this. This mysterious professor was certainly one to be wary of. He observed more than he let on. 

Hubert was interrupted from his thoughts by the sound of a throat clearing above him. Byleth was leaning against the balcony, staring down at him, his long hair and sleeves waving carelessly in the wind. 

“Well?”

Hubert looked up and met those deep blue eyes for several seconds before glancing away. The depth behind Byleth’s gaze was unfathomable compared to what he exhibited on the outside. It was...unsettling. 

“I suppose I can spare some time,” Hubert said, putting a slight scoff in his tone to hide just how the professor’s stare had affected him. How was it possible to hide so much behind such a blank expression? And more importantly, _what_ exactly was Byleth hiding? 

“Excellent,” Byleth said and turned, leaving Hubert to have to walk quickly to catch up with him.

“Insect larva is the worst kind of bait. If I want to catch the type of fish I’m aiming for, I need something a little more quality. After insect larva are pond snails, earthworms, bowflys, and herring bait. Are you following so far?” Byleth asked, turning his head slightly to catch Hubert’s response. The dark mage merely scoffed. 

“What do you take me for, a small child for which information goes in one ear and out the other?” he sneered. Byleth took no notice, merely continuing on his way. 

“The best places to find bait lying around in the monastery are by the fishing pond, at the training ground, around the gardens, or in the marketplace. I haven’t been to the training grounds today, so that’s where we’re heading.” 

“Noted,” Hubert said and inwardly grimaced. Lady Edelgard was likely to be at the training grounds today. At least he was keeping an eye on the professor in case he tried anything.

The pair entered the dusty training field just as one of the sparing pairs was disarmed. The ownerless axe came spinning towards the professor who seemed to give it a second’s contemplation before his hand darted out to grab the handle mid-air. He twirled it around his fingers experimentally with a slight mutter of “Predictable,” as the two students who’d been sparing rushed over to apologize.

“It’s no matter, it didn’t hit me. However, you should think about repairing or retiring this training axe. It’s terribly imbalanced.” 

Hubert did a quick scan over the other students on the training ground. He caught Lady Edelgard’s gaze near the end. A sound of discontentment made its way out of his throat. He’d need to have a word with those students about being aware of those sparring around them. As it was, he simply scowled at them until they got the message and fled. His scary visage did come in useful quite often. 

“Professor,” Lady Edelgard said, walking over to Byleth. She glanced sideways at Hubert, nodded, and turned back to the professor.

“Edelgard. Working on your sword skills I see.” 

“Yes, professor. Was there something you needed?” 

“There was. Hubert and I were looking for some fishing bait. You haven’t happened to see any, have you?”

Edelgard glanced at Hubert, eyebrows slightly raised. _What is this?_ Hubert shook his head slightly. _Nothing important Milady._

“Actually I have. I saw some lying around the armor rack--” 

''Excellent, thank you,” Byleth interrupted, striding over to where the armor was hanging. Hubert growled slightly at the show of disrespect to the future Adrestian Empress, but Edelgard pacified him with a gesture. 

“He doesn’t mean it disrespectfully, Hubert. The professor is very blunt, single-minded some might say.” The dark mage was inclined to disagree, remembering the depth he’d seen in Byleth’s eyes only a few minutes before, but he remained silent. 

“Anyways, what are you up to?”

“I’m keeping tabs on the so-called professor. I don’t trust him. He could be a liability.” Edelgard regarded him thoughtfully.

“I’m inclined to trust him, but I respect you opinion. Do what you must, but please, don’t obsess over it. We have other things to worry about.” 

“Indeed Milady, accept my apologies.” 

“Apologies accepted, now, take some time off and go fishing with the professor.” Hubert started. 

“Excuse me Milady?”

“Keeping tabs on him, as you call it.” She made a dismissive gesture with her hand. 

“We can talk later. I will send someone if I have need of you.” With that, she nodded to him, and turned back to her training. 

Hubert blinked. He thought for a moment that maybe, just maybe, Lady Edelgard had been insinuating something. Before he could reflect upon the perplexing conversation further, Byleth returned, same blank expression as ever on his face. 

“I found what I needed. Let’s go.” 

A few minutes later, Hubert found himself sitting with Byleth at the edge of the pier as his teacher methodically went through the steps of baiting the hook, casting the line, and what to do if a fish bit. 

Hubert followed the instruction rather reluctantly. This felt...awkward, almost base, sitting here fishing. If not for Lady Edelgard, he would have formulated an excuse to slip away and observe from the shadows. As it was, he was irritated and itching to go and do something more worth his time.

“You shouldn’t put Bernadetta and I near each other during missions. It worsens her performance,” he finally spat out in an attempt to break the infuriating monotony.

“Shhh, you’ll scare away the fish,” Byleth murmured, wholly focused on where his line met the water. But then he paused, and looked over at Hubert.

“It’s because she’s scared of you,” he stated bluntly, then tilted his head. “Sounds like a you problem.”

Hubert nearly spluttered in indignation.

“I can’t help it if the girl feels anxiety at my presence. The only control I have over her performance is how near my proximity is to her, which I am trying to remedy by talking to you!”

Byleth continued to stare at him, unreadable as always. Hubert took a deep breath.  


“I don’t blame her for experiencing anxiety in my presence. She is not the first, and I have an idea of what goes on behind the closed mansion doors of Adrestia’s nobility. I’m sure her timidity and social anxiety are a result of that. The fact is, Bernadetta von Varley is a valuable asset to Lady Edelgard, at least in this school setting. There are only the eight of us and you that go out on missions. Even one extra person can mean the difference between Lady Edelgard’s life and death. It is therefore imperative that Bernadetta performs at full capacity at all times while on the battlefield. The least time-consuming way I can see of doing this is by placing us far apart while on missions.”

Byleth evaluated Hubert for a few seconds before giving a response.

“When we’re on missions, I tend to move you students in clumps. Do you know why that is?”

Hubert frowned distastefully at this. He’d noticed this tendency of his professor’s and disapproved of it immensely. The dark mage had a wide knowledge of strategy and was of the opinion that clumping units tended to be more of a hindrance than a help.

“I must confess I do not. It has never seemed like very exemplary strategy to me.” 

Byleth turned back to his fishing, his lips twitching slightly in the semblance of an emotion. 

“People support those around them. They help those they fight near. Numerous times your own life has been saved because I put someone next to you, watching your back. Additionally, I like to promote good rapport between classmates. While I cannot personally attest to the effects of friendship, logically, the closer you are to those around you, the more efficiently you perform on the battlefield. Friendships made here at the monastery could also potentially have lasting significance once you leave this place.” 

Byleth shifted, crossing his legs and running a thumb over the pole in his hand. 

“Therefore, I will continue to place Bernadetta near you in battle until you two come to some sort of resolution. I promise, as her teacher, not to let Edelgard come to harm. But if you really are worried about Bernadetta’s battle performance, I suggest you put the same amount of time into your relationships that you do into following me.” 

Hubert’s eyes widened, then narrowed. He opened his mouth to reply to his professor’s accusation, but just then a vicious tug on his line nearly pulled him into the water.

“Looks like you’ve got quite the fish on your line,” Byleth observed as Hubert fought to get the fish onto the pier. 

“Gradually reel in the line, but be careful of the tension. If it seems like the line will break, give the fish some line. You can do this all day. The fish cannot.” 

Eventually, Hubert reeled in the silver-scaled monster, a slight sweat of exertion forming on his brow. 

“A Caledonian Gar, well done Hubert. That’s actually the exact fish I was trying the catch. I don’t suppose you have any need of it?”

“Actually I do have need of it. Apologies professor.” 

He didn’t really need the fish. In fact, it would probably be more of a nuisance to get rid of it any other way than by giving it to the professor. No, he was trying to provoke a reaction out of the expressionless man. To get something out of him that would be worth this wasted morning. No such luck. Byleth simply stared at him with the same damn face he always wore before sitting back down and recasting his line. 

“Unfortunate. Well, thank you for gracing me with your presence this past hour or so. I am also learning the values of forming relationships, so I am appreciative of the time you relinquished to further this one.” 

Hubert glanced sharply at the professor’s turned back, but it seemed nothing more was forthcoming. Without a word, he stalked away from the pier, wriggling fish in hand. Goddess, he had to find someone to foist this onto. But more importantly, he contemplated his and Byleth’s conversation. 

_“I suggest you put the same amount of time into your relationships that you do into following me.”_

The mysterious professor was more observant than Hubert gave him credit for. In the future, he’d have to be more cautious. 

As he disappeared up the stairs toward the dormitories, the dark mage failed to notice the gaze of a certain blue-eyed teacher following his retreating back, eyebrows slightly drawn together. With a frustrated sigh, Byleth resumed his vigil by the pond. 

“That’s what I get for saying too much. I really wanted that fish damn it!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just finished chapter 11 of the Black Eagles route and I want to die :) 
> 
> I’ve thought a little bit more about where I want to go with this fic and there may end up being some spoilers later on because I don’t know how in depth I can go with Hubert’s character without having some. There probably won’t be any post-timeskip spoilers though. I’ll change the tags and put in warnings if I do end up putting in spoilers. Thanks for reading!
> 
> Also, why is Bernadetta literally me?


	3. Byleth Delivers Lost Items

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Professor Byleth is really hard to track down, and when found, he only manages to infuriate Hubert even more. Also, handkerchiefs?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning! There is now a pre-timeskip spoilers tag!
> 
> Sorry this took so long to get up. I rewrote this chapter three times before I was somewhat happy with it. The second version I had really pushed the Edelgard & Hubert tag to the extreme, but then I looked at the summary of this fic and decided to shelve that content for a different fic. (I may also have started a document purely to rant about Hubert and Edelgard’s relationship because I have no friends who play FE) Also of note, school started about a week ago and I’m already dying. I’ll try to update once a week, but we’ll see. Sorry again for the long wait. Hope you enjoy!

“So, guess what?”

“What?"

“That really nice squire of the Knights of Seiros gave me a handkerchief!”

“So…?”

“It’s an old tradition from back when the Empire ruled the continent, but now it’s more of a Kingdom custom. When you give someone a handkerchief, it means you intend to court them!”

“But...does he know that?” 

“I thin--”

Hubert audibly rustled the parchment of the Hresvelg Treatise he was reading, glaring over the top at the two girls whose giggling was distracting him. With a noise of fear, one of the girls attempted to leave his near proximity, but the other caught her wrist.

“Don’t mind him. If he really wanted quiet he would read in the _library_,” she said, pointedly pitching her voice so the dark mage could hear her.

For a moment, Hubert entertained the idea of loosing Banshee on the two girls. They weren’t Black Eagles. They were expendable. However, it would reflect badly on Lady Edelgard.

With another glare towards the girls, Hubert turned his attention back to his previous area of study.

“Ferdinand, I believe this is yours.”

“Indeed it is professor, I must have misplaced it. Thank you for finding it!”

“Not a problem.”

Hubert observed this whole exchange, concealed behind a hedge, pretending to read the treatise while leaning against the gate to Jeritza’s quarters. Over the edge of the parchment, the dark mage contemplated two of the people on his mental list of extremely suspicious and/or deplorable people. Ferdinand, the son of that bastard Duke Aegir, and the Black Eagles’ dear professor, who seemed to have the uncanny ability to be everywhere at once.

Hubert grit his teeth as he caught a glimpse of the orange-haired whelp again. He knew it was hypocritical to judge a person according to their parentage, but Ferdinand’s egotistical, privileged attitude, combined with the fact that he thought he equaled, if not exceded, Lady Edelgard, often made him compare the boy to his slimy, brutish, worm of a father.

And while he’d been trying to mentally Miasma the noble with his disgusted thoughts, professor Byleth had disappeared.

Hubert cursed and quickly shoved the treatise in the folds of his robe before striding in the direction opposite the stables. As he left his concealed position, the orange-haired pest must have spotted him, due to how he heard his infuriatingly loud and cheery voice call, "Good afternoon Hubert!" With barely a grunt in response, the dark mage stalked off.

“Goddess, what’s his problem?” the more assertive of the two girls said snidely

“I think,” said the other, “he’s bitter he doesn’t have someone to give him a handkerchief.”

Her friend merely shook her head.

* * *

Professor Byleth, Hubert had found over several months of meticulous study, was a master at the art of teleportation. And while the dark mage wasn't particularly inclined towards hyperbole, he felt, in this case, it was appropriate.

He'd even surreptitiously questioned Byleth on whether he'd grown adept enough in faith magic to acquire Warp and whether he'd ever heard of a warp spell that worked on oneself, both of which had been answered in the negative.

The consequences of these questions were felt when, for two weeks afterward, Byleth forced him to work on his faith magic skills. Hubert despised faith magic. And, after two weeks of not being able to summon up a simple Heal, the professor caught on to his dislike.

"I knew it would be difficult for you to learn, but not this difficult," Byleth had mused as he'd scratched out faith on Hubert's goal sheet and penned reason back in.

And despite the intimidating questions and the private tutoring in faith magic, Hubert still had no idea how the professor could disappear on one side of campus and reappear on the other side in a matter of a minute.

Following Byleth became a game of how well he could predict where the professor would go next. And while it had annoyed him at first, Hubert now found this prediction game to be one of the little sparks that lit up the empty cavern where his heart should have been.

It all came down to lists, conditionals, and variables, all of which Hubert kept carefully tallied in his mind. At the beginning of the professor’s day off, he would immediately go to those who had posted tasks on the bulletin boards. Since Seteth was the most common requester, it was fairly simple to wait on the second floor and wait for the professor to come striding down the hall towards the Archbishop’s throne room.

After the quests, however, it became a little more tricky.

Hubert had found that Byleth felt the need to talk to and check up on _everyone_. Students of all the houses, every teacher, the knights, and even the gatekeeper, whose overt enthusiasm when the professor walked by made Hubert sneer in disgust.

In general, the professor would go from one area of the monastery to an adjoining one, but if multiple areas surrounded the one he was in, it was a toss-up.

The training grounds featured high on Byleth’s priority list, as well as the cathedral. If all else failed, he would go to one of those two places.

At some point, Byleth would always go plant and harvest new crops at the greenhouse and solve student’s problems in the cathedral.

The dark mage would always save a scoff for the sight of the professor reading over requests from carefree students who had silly issues like what to write to their older brother or how to get someone to do their work for them.

Although, as much as he despised the carefree attitude of many of the students here, he couldn’t stop a ribbon of wistfulness fluttering through the lackluster pit in his chest.  


Edelgard deserved that kind of life. 

And maybe, in a world where she could have written requests about childish issues, he might have deserved that kind of life as well...

Such thinking was not worth dwelling on. The past could not be changed. Only the future. And Hubert’s immediate future consisted of following Byleth. Because Hubert’s intuition told him that if anyone could upset the future Edelgard had suffered, would suffer for, it would be the infuriatingly mysterious professor. 

The professor which he still couldn’t find!

Hubert prided himself on his self-control, but that didn’t stop him from contemplating sending Miasma crashing through the next hedge that got in his way.

“Hubert.”

With dark power already partially spasming in his palms, it took all his self-restraint to not strike Byleth down as he whirled to find the professor three feet behind him.

“Professor,” he nearly growled.

Byleth contemplated him for a few seconds, took in the rigid posture, the piercing glare, the barely concealed dark aura in gloved palms.

“I’ll come back later,” he said and abruptly turned around.

“Wait.”

That surely wasn’t desperation in his voice, was it? Hubert did not want to be seen as desperate. At the same time, he couldn’t afford to lose the professor just seconds after finding him.

Byleth stopped, turning his head slightly.

“You seem to be in a less charitable mood than usual. I had two things that had to do with you, but it can wait until after you’ve calmed down with some tea. Oh wait, that’s Ferdinand’s thing. Coffee then. That’s what you prefer, correct?”

And the dark mage was suddenly so taken aback because, was that… anxiousness written into the professor’s posture? The only thing on his face was an imperceptibly furrowed brow, but all the same. The professor was anxious...about pleasing him?

The dark mage frowned, deeper than he was already frowning, and that made Byleth’s posture fall back into its usual stiff ambiguity.

“Right, goodbye.”

“No,” Hubert hissed through clenched teeth. There was a pause.

“I do, like coffee.”

Byleth turned fully around and nodded.

“Good to know.”

Another few moments of silence passed. Byleth stared pointedly at Hubert’s aura-clad fingers. With an irritated sigh, the dark mage let the magic recede back into his being.

“What were the two items you specified you were here for?”

“First,” Byleth said, taking a wary step forward and pulling a needle and thread out of his sleeve.

“I’m having a difficult time figuring out who this belongs to.” 

The memory of a late night encounter flashed through his mind.

“Bernadetta,” he said without thinking. Then after a moment of thought narrowed his eyes.

“Why would you bring that inquiry to me?”

Almost seeming not to hear, Byleth absentmindedly tucked the tiny, pointed stick and spool back up his sleeve murmuring, “Sometimes I think you know my students better than I do.”

“Professor.” Hubert prompted, irritated.

Byleth slowly tilted his head up to look at the taller man.

“Because you apparently have the time to catalogue everyone’s general information in your head,” he said, reaching into his other sleeve and pulling out a bunch of familiar looking cards covered in his sharp-edged script.

“Are these yours?”

He’d thought he’d thrown them out. It’d been ages since he’d needed them. Apparently he hadn’t disposed of them quite as nicely as he’d thought.

“I won’t deny it.”

“Mmm,” Byleth mused, and tucked them back in his sleeve.

Then, “I found them in a pile of rubbish. Their aesthetic and that of the rubbish heap clashed so badly that I couldn’t just leave them there. I’m glad I didn’t, they were very useful. Thank you.”

A dark chuckle rose unbidden from Hubert’s throat, both from the image of the professor rummaging through a pile of rubbish as well as his apparent aesthetic sensibilities. Oh the irony of the professor saving something so subjectively pristine and yet had been touched by him, probably one of the most stained people at the monastery.

Byleth tilted his head at the odd response, but continued on as usual.

“I would appreciate it if you would help me find out who the rest of these lost items belong to,” he said abruptly.

“No.”

“Please.” 

“Professor, why should I waste my precious time like a common dog, running from one side of the monastery to the other to return things carelessly forgotten,” he sneered.

“Because it’s nice.” Hubert’s eyes widened.

“Excuse me?”

“I believe that if there is a choice between doing something nice for someone else and doing nothing at all, a person should do the nice thing. Would you agree?”

Hubert, for once, was without a quip. The professor’s logic was so pure and simple, as if you could chose to aid a random being without expecting something in return. The dark mage could hardly believe a former mercenary could possess a logic so...childishly naive. His lips curled in a sneer.

“No, I don’t. Doing something nice for someone else isn’t worth the time and effort unless you get something in return. Besides, helping others isn’t always the most beneficial course of action for you or them.”

“What about Edelgard?”

“What about Milady?”

“You said it isn’t worth the time and effort if you don’t get something in return. Yet, you give the entirety of your being to her and don’t seem to receive much in return.” 

Hubert felt his body freeze up as it sometimes did when he contemplated his and Edelgard’s relationship. The depth of emotion there was something he didn’t touch often, it was too volatile to keep his mind on for too long.

“I am her vassal. I have her trust. That is enough. It has been and always will be enough,” he finally said in a hoarse, clipped tone, astonished by his own raw honesty.

“I think,” Byleth said matter-of-factly, “That you’ve given so much of yourself unconditionally to one person that you can only view other relationships in a transactional manner to avoid getting attached to anyone else, whether it’s out of a sense of duty to your person, or a manner of protecting yourself, or what’s left of it anyway.”

The professor really had no sense of tact.

Hubert closed his eyes, clenched his fists, took a deep breath in...and out...then opened them once more, fixing the professor with a blatant smirk that didn’t reach his hard, mint-green irises.

“I don’t see a problem with that.”

And with that statement, a miracle took place. 

As if pulled by the sheer force of gravity, Byleth’s lips turned down in a slight frown. His eyebrows drew together like they’d somehow become magnetized. And his eyes, oh his eyes. They shone with pure unadulterated concern, phantom tendrils of his hidden emotions reaching out and curling around Hubert’s form as if trying to pull him closer. 

The dark mage took a step back, almost convinced he was hallucinating this display. But when he blinked, the expression was still there, etched into Byleth’s face by the weight of his words.

What did it mean that this paragon of emotional staticness became dynamic? 

And for him?

An unfamiliar emotion twisted in the dark mage’s stomach, making him internally wince.

It was fortunate he’d learned to deal unwanted emotions from unnecessary people in childhood. With the force of his mental resolve, he brought his inner workings back to their usual icy stand-still.  
And the professor simply watched him, the expression only deepening slightly as he watched his student mentally put himself back in order.

Then, faster than the Thunderbrand, Byleth turned, grasping Hubert’s wrist and pulling him forward.

“Come. Help me return these lost items. Consider it as part of your training. You clearly need to work on forming and maintaining relationships outside of Edelgard. An E+ is your current relationship rank and that simply won’t do. Not in my class.”

Hubert, caught by surprise, stumbled for a step before summoning Miasma around his fingers, sending the dark aura into his and Byleth’s points of contact.

The professor didn’t even let out a sound of pain as he withdrew his fingers, shaking out his gloved hand.

“Come,” he beckoned again.

The dark-haired man deliberately remained still, a snarl curling his lip.

“I refuse to be dragged around like some sort of pet!”

“Quite an apt simile, considering you remind me of a cat digging in its heels on the way to the bath. Now come, or I will...” Byleth pondered for a second, “make you work on faith magic for the rest of the year as well as put you on stable duty with Ferdinand.”

With that, the professor turned on his heel, expecting the dark mage to follow him. With liquid ire pouring through his icy veins, Hubert did follow, albeit very reluctantly. Faith magic and Ferdinand were not something he wished to endure for the rest of the year.

Before they had gone twenty paces, Byleth halted. The dark mage crossed his arms.

“What now?”

“Here. This was the other thing I needed to see you for,” he said, turning and pulling yet another object out of his sleeve. The object in question nearly startled Hubert out of his seething rage.

It was a white handkerchief, monogrammed with House Vestra’s name and symbol. One of the few gifts Hubert had ever received from his father. The piece of cloth was well used, and as he never bothered to wash it, stained and grimy from much use. 

_It’s a decent representation of my relationship with the Marquis_, he thought wryly.

The professor held it out, and when Hubert begrudgingly uncrossed his arms and held out his hand, he placed the smudged whiteness in his palm.

“There, that which was lost has found its home,” Byleth murmured, locking eyes with Hubert before relinquishing the wayward item. Hubert’s fingers closed around the handkerchief, accepting it back into his possession before replacing it in one of his cloak’s pockets.

“Right, time to go deliver the rest of the lost items. Will you be following?”

* * *

And thus the rumor of the professor’s evil shadow returning vanished belongings spread through the monastery like insurrection in the Western Church. And suddenly, the professor found the grounds suspiciously clean of students’ belongings.

“Hubert is good for student responsibility,” he said to Sothis one day. 

The Goddess simply rolled her eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I ship Ferdinand/Hubert wholeheartedly and will write a fic for them, just not today. Maybe when I can actually finish the silver snow and crimson flower routes. If you want to know where I am in the game, silver snow chapter 15. I’m sorry friends, playing video games takes me a while, and now that school is happening, I can only play on weekends. Also, this fic is how I’m coping with doing silver snow, so progress in the game usually means progress in writing.
> 
> I borrowed the handkerchief custom from “Mistborn.” It felt like it fit. Also headcannon that Hubert made the roaster cards as a means of having a grasp of each student's usefulness to Edelgard as well as knowing how to manipulate them.
> 
> Thank you for the kudos and comments, they’ve helped me pretend my essay deadlines aren’t there for a little while. I hope you continue to enjoy!


	4. Professor Byleth and the Goddess

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hubert can't sleep, so he takes a midnight stroll and happens upon the professor's room, where he happens to hear an interesting one-sided conversation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, please note the pre-time skip and Edelgard/Hubert's backstory spoiler tags! They are very present in this chapter! 
> 
> What? I actually got this chapter up in a reasonable amount of time? Thank Three Houses being emotionally traumatic for me to play :) (hearing Ferdinand’s scream when killed by Meteor from a certain dark bishop isn’t an experience I think I can go through again) 
> 
> In other news, my best friend has been helping me practice writing emotions better (because despite the fact that I feel other people’s emotions very strongly, I apparently can’t write them that way), so the angst in this chapter was the result of that. Let me know how I did!

Hubert’s insomnia was particularly bad that night. Even when he was very young, sleeping had been a struggle for him. He figured the condition was anxiety induced. 

The constant uncertainty of where his lady was at all times.

Their plans, and his own that she needn’t concern herself with, circling round and round inside his head until he was exhausted from the incessant picking apart and piecing back together.

The nagging feeling that if he ever let himself stop, even for one second, something terrible would happen to Edelgard.

It had been worse when he was younger. First with the experimentation, then with Edelgard's kidnapping.

He'd used to lie in bed, trembling with self-loathing, feeling trapped in his child’s body, deprived of the strength he needed to help the one dearest to him.

That’s when he began to learn magic.

He realized that if his body wouldn’t grow up fast enough to be of use, then his mind would have to carry that load.

Each day they barred him from her presence while she was experimented on, he would shut himself in his room and pour over tomes, pushing his mind and body to the limit in order to call forth the nebulous energy. When the insomnia was at its worst, he would work through the nights as well. He couldn’t stay idle! Not while Edelgard was suffering.

He would master the arts of reason magic, and then he would take his revenge on those who hurt her. The thought that he couldn’t be of use to her was like a festering wound on his heart, leeching the color from his skin, the brightness from his eyes.

But he never let it show when he was with her. And in those days, he was with her often. Every moment they were allowed, and even some they weren’t, they were together.

The only days Hubert truly slept were those when a knock would come at his door in the depths of night.

When her small, slim form wordlessly tip-toed into his room and curled up in his bed.

When he would lay next to her, turned towards her, but not quite touching because while he knew this was improper he couldn’t bear the uncertainty of not being able to see her even as his brain shut down from exhaustion.

And then she’d been taken. 

He’d known about the insurrection ahead of time. As her vassal it was his job to know, and his father was relatively easy to spy on.

He’d had it all planned out. Just before the traitors made their move he would spirit her away to a safe location he’d secured.

He just hadn’t counted on her uncle doing it first.

That night had been the worst of his entire life. 

Waking up from one of his few sleep spells and immediately knowing something was wrong (it's too loud).

Rushing out of his room in only his boots and nightclothes (something is happening).

Looking out the window and seeing a flash of white among undulating brown (theyretakingherineedicant).

Bursting through stable doors, wrangling a horse, and riding. And riding. And riding. And--!

(nostopletgoyoucantkeepmefromherstopstopstopstopstopstop!)

_She’s gone._

It was like his heart had been ripped out of his chest and ridden away with her traitorous uncle, leaving a gaping pit behind.

_She’s gone._

And from that void slithered a deep chill which constricted around his mind and body until he went numb from the cold.

_It’s my fault. _

And when he found a bottle of sleeping powder in the kitchen the next day, even the liquid rage that scorched his insides raw couldn’t seem to melt the permafrost beneath his skin.

_I failed her._

It had taken years for him to regain even the semblance of sleeping normally again. And now all that progress seemed to have thrown itself off the Goddess Tower. 

After several hours of his brain thinking too much to allow himself to fall into a state of slumber, Hubert grunted and sat up, rolling out of the covers and slipping into his boots. A patrol of the grounds would hopefully lull his mind into a decent sense of security.

Wrapping his dark cloak around himself for modesty, he stepped out into the thankfully cool night.

The weather here in Garreg Mach tended to be slightly colder than it was in the Empire, though the summer months still had their share of muggy nights. It was fortunate for him that this wasn’t one of them.

With purposeful steps, he paced all the way to the north end of the corridor, then back to the south, listening at each door to make sure nothing was amiss. At this hour, most of what he heard were sleep laden breaths, although Marianne’s room was suspiciously silent. With the dark circles she sported, it wouldn’t be a surprise if she was a fellow insomniac.

The dark mage took one last look around the corridor before descending to the first floor.

It was rather pathetic, this segregation of noble and commoner, he thought as he strolled through the first floor dormitories. If the church really wanted to promote equality, they wouldn’t care about what the nobles thought and assign rooms randomly. As it was, the blatant separation only further emphasized the church’s own hypocrisy.

The thought caused him to smirk.

Edelgard would bring down this foolish favoritism and usher in a new era of equality and unity. Everything the church had been working to shatter for the last thousand years. To think that one of Seiros’s own descendants would bring about the downfall of her legacy.

The irony of it brought a soft chuckle rumbling out of his throat.

The occupants of the first floor dormitories were much the same as those of the second floor. Lindhardt, one of the few nobles who, due to sheer numbers, had been forced to stay down here, was also one of the few who was not sleeping. A dim light leaked out from beneath his door and the sound of rustling pages could be heard from within.

If it were any other Black Eagle, Hubert would have had serious words with them about the effects of sleep deprivation on battle performance. But because it was Lindhardt, well, the dark mage knew he made up for the sleep he lost, several times over, specifically during class.

Hubert sighed as he made it to the final room. By now he was so used to functioning on little to no sleep that he’d stopped trying to rest for a healthy amount of time. He knew proper rest wasn’t a waste of time, and yet when he lay idle in bed, waiting for exhaustion to overtake him, he felt so...useless. It was one of the few feelings he still experienced on a regular basis, and one of the most uncomfortable.

There was a tiny pocket of thought in the back of his brain that liked to whisper “sleeping herbs” whenever he thought about this topic. 

But he couldn’t...he...couldn’t...take...forced...sleep...no...not...aga--

He was broken out of his thoughts by the sound of a voice meandering out from beneath the last door. There was light under this one too. Hubert stiffened, then moved closer, taking care to render his footfalls virtually silent.

This room was one he was quite familiar with. It was professor Byleth’s room.

_A secret meeting perhaps. I’ve always been suspicious of you but I hadn’t expected you to be so sloppily traitorous._

However, as he sidled up next to the door and placed his ear to the wood, it soon became obvious that there was only one voice speaking. And that fact in and of itself almost made what he was hearing even more baffling.

“--came for tea. It was an odd experience but not unpleasant. Sothis, please don’t sit on the strategy essays...I know but all the same I would prefer it if you sat on the bed instead. Thank you…”

Sothis? As in the Goddess? The professor was having a one-sided dialogue with an invisible deity? Hubert pressed his lips together.

If the professor was delusional, it wouldn’t be safe to have him leading the Black Eagles, especially with Lady Edelgard’s life on the line. If this continued, he’d have to find some method of getting rid of him.

Hubert felt a slight twinge in his stomach at the thought of disposing of the professor. He frowned. Maybe it would be better to get rid of him sooner rather than later.

He was about ready to stalk off when the one-sided conversation picked up again.

“I find it strange that everyone here, the church especially, emphasizes the idea that we are at peace. It’s almost as if they’re trying to convince themselves. 

“What does peace even mean? If Fodlan is at peace, why do I look around at all my students’ faces and see darkness hidden just beneath the surface?

“Why does Bernadetta never leave her room? Why does Dorthea hate nobles? Why does Ferdinand try so hard to be the best and please everyone? Why is Petra virtually a prisoner here? Why is Lindhardt forced to fight when he can’t stand the sight of blood? Why does Caspar avoid Shamir and Petra? Why is Edelgard too mature for her age? Why is Hubert too cynical for his? And for that matter, why are there rebellions in the Kingdom and insurrection in the Empire?

“My students are suffering, Sothis. Don’t ask me why I know, I just do. And the church calls this peace! I feel all the duplicity around me and yet I don’t know where it’s coming from and I think this emotion is what you call frustration because I want to fix it but I can’t even begin to understand it.”

Hubert was stunned. He didn’t realize just how much the professor had picked up about the general state of the continent in the few short months he’d been here. Then again, the new generation was very representative of the internal conflicts all over the nation that had been virtually pushed under the rug by the blanket word “peace.”

_Enjoy it while it lasts, professor. Soon Edelgard will rip this facade out by the roots and all the ugliness the church has been trying to conceal will be revealed._

“--I’m aware. I’ve been trying to form a sort of camaraderie between the students and its been working, for the most part. I’m not an expert on relationships, but I know it’s important to have and maintain them.

“The Black Eagles are growing closer, even Bernadetta is interacting with everyone on a semi-regular basis but...I’m still having some difficulty with Edelgard, and even more with Hubert. It’s not that they aren’t interacting.

“With Edelgard, I can tell she’s gotten closer to some of the other Black Eagles, but it’s almost a superficial closeness. Like it’s there but not really, on her side anyway. She’s holding something back. And Hubert is just flat out antagonistic, or he interacts, but puts up a barrier that keeps people from getting beneath his smirking indifference to anything that isn’t related to Edelgard.”

There was a pause.

“I know there’s something there that I don’t know about. Some sort of trauma, I think.”

Another pause, then softly, so softly that the dark mage had to lean even closer to catch the words:

“I wish I could help. Before I came here, I don’t think I ever really experienced a genuine desire for anything. But I know I want this. I want my students to be happy. I want to give back some of what they’ve given to me.

“By forming a bond with me, they’ve allowed me to experience emotions I’ve never felt before, like happiness, and sadness too. And now I want to use what I’ve learned to help them form bonds with others, to share their experiences, so that maybe, in this continent of contradictions, they can find their own brand of happiness in one another.”

The twinge was back. It wrapped around his insides and squeezed so hard he felt the ice beneath his skin splinter and crack.

He had to get away from here. He couldn’t listen to the professor’s emotional idealistic nonsense any longer.

With quick steps he <strike>fled</strike> departed the scene, heading back to his room.

From anyone else, Hubert would have assumed those words were posturing, a stance to garner the hope and determination of those around them. But Byleth, oh so naive professor Byleth, had whispered them genuinely, and to the Goddess, or at least his delusion of her, in the middle of the night, where no one else was really supposed to have heard.

To think people like him existed in the world. People so uncorrupted by the dark tendrils that seemed to strangle them all. People who thought that just by forming a relationship, by sharing your burdens with someone else, that would somehow make every bit of suffering just vanish.

He felt the ice begin to freeze over again.

_As much as we would all like to live in your ideal world, professor, friendship isn’t the magical cure to all of our problems._

The dark mage returned to his room, but didn’t sleep for the remainder of the night.

* * *

“Did you hear something?” Byleth asked the green-haired girl perched precariously on the end of his bed.

She shrugged.

“I hear everything you do. I can neither confirm nor deny that statement.”

“Hmm,” Byleth said, walking to the door and closing it completely.

“I could have sworn I heard footsteps.” Sothis yawned and lay back on his bed.

“You sound like that one really paranoid student you were talking about.”

“Hubert?”

“Mmm.”

Byleth blinked several times, then looked back at the door sharply. Sothis sat up as well.

“You don’t think…?”

Byleth was quiet for several long moments, then he sighed.

“I have nothing to hide,” he said, returning to his desk and pulling out the chair. As he sat down, Sothis wandered over and placed her head on his shoulder.

“You forgot about me! You aren’t exactly broadcasting the fact that you talk to a person who only exists inside your head. If anyone heard you they’d think you were crazy!”

Byleth tilted his head to rest against against hers for a second before picking up the stack of essays and pulling his pen from the inkpot.

“So you’re acknowledging that you’re only a figment of my imagination? Can I get this in writing?” he deadpanned.

And although no one could really see or hear her, more than one student noticed the professor favoring his right arm when their essays came back, the normally neatly written comments now an illegible scrawl.

“Sprained my wrist during a spar,” he told anyone who asked.

And Sothis, glowering, watched from her indefinite banishment of fifteen feet away from the professor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can’t imagine Hubert not being incredibly traumatized by Edelgard’s kidnapping. Especially as a child, if your identity is built around a single person, and that person suddenly vanishes it’s like who you are has been rendered void and meaningless. I go back and forth on whether her kidnapping was ultimately good or bad for him mentally and/or socially in the long run. On one hand, it might have allowed him to form a sense of self apart from her, which would have been beneficial. On the other hand, an experience like that was likely extremely traumatic and probably increased his antisocial behavior and fear of attachment. Oof, this is what happens when you’re a psych student and you play games with good writing.
> 
> Also, I have a big essay deadline coming up this week, so there probably won’t be another update until after Labor Day. Sorry! School unfortunately comes first :(
> 
> Once again (I'll say this every chapter because I appreciate everyone who reads this rather self-indulgant writing of mine, born from my quest to understand these characters) thank you for reading, and I hope you continue to enjoy!


End file.
